fishfinders for shallow water?

[dono16]

I just got a Humminbird PiranhaMAX 215 Fishfinder works well however when i get into about 4 feet or shallower the depth reading starts going nuts. I run in shallow rivers and lakes that usually arent clear so i cant see bottom. and im sick of hitting bottom!

I plan on returning it and getting one that can read the shallows better, but im not sure whats a good one ,,,,,, i heard that the degree of the sonar can affect the shallow reading, so whats better low or high degree? I dont have much of a budget about $150 but any advise on any of your experiences, whats worked for you ,, any help ,,, thanks

 

[Boatist]

Re: fishfinders for shallow water?

If your not a fishreman then you can get many low power Fishfinder that will do great in water up to 50 feet. I would suggest you look at the Eagle line. They are the same company as Lowrance but a lower power cheaper line.

As far as transducer goes for shallow water you want a 200 Khz transducer with a 20 degree cone angle.
The narrow Cone angle 8 or 12 degrees is only needed for deeper waters, Over 200 feet with low power for example.

The 50 khz transducer is more for deep salt water.

 

[jtexas]

Re: fishfinders for shallow water?

My eagle fishmark320 usually tracks reliably down to 2 feet, sometimes down to 1. I guess you know, it's not forward-looking, and by the time the 'ducer is over a sandbar it's too late anyway.

Does that unit have an "offset" feature, where you can add or subtract to/from the reading? Example, I add 11" to the depth, to account for the depth of the transducer, so the screen shows the actual water depth. But I could choose to subtract from the reading, if I wanted to show how much water is under the skeg, for example.